Marseille, like Newcastle are still hoping to offload some players before September and it looks like the winger is one of those available.

Florian Thauvin left Newcastle recently for a season long loan at the French club with an obligation to buy, once Florian has played a given number of games.

Romain Alessandrini – 27 year-old Marseille winger
The player started his career at his home town club Marseille and came through the Youth Academy there, but he then left for Gueugnon in 2008.

Romain found his way back to Marseille only two years ago from Rennes.

The report suggests that Newcastle will go up to around €5M (£4.3M) for the player – not much – which is what Marseille paid Rennes to bring him back to the south of France club two years ago.

His style of play is that he has considerable pace, is good at dribbling and can score goals from midfield.

We are a bit dubious of this report however, and wonder if Alessandrini is good enough or is physical enough of a player at 5ft 8ins tall to put up with the significant rigors of English football.

After all the last two French wingers to arrive on Tyneside – Remy Cabella (£8M) and Florian Thauvin (£13M) both failed miserably and we haven’t had too much success with French wingers over the last few years at Newcastle.

And both of those players are now at Marseille so they are above Alessandrini in the pecking order.

In his two seasons at Marseille he has played 57 games with 11 goals and 8 assists and while at Rennes for two seasons he made 60 appearance and scored 20 goals with 12 assists.

50 responses so far ↓

I’ve always been positive about signings. They deserve to show what they can do before being judged. I hope the lad is better suited to the game in this country. Powerful, pacey and accurate passer of the ball. Good luck to him if he joins.

All in all I’m very happy with the way things are going. We’ve started winning in the league, we’ve won our first cup match, we have a reasonable opponent coming up in Wolves and a nice challenge at home with Brighton. We’re getting the troublesome players out as well. Excellent work Rafa.

If you’re trying to picture me out there (and I know you are BandB mate) just picture an older, stockier version of Ricky Gervais with large rimmed glasses, beady eyes, wearing a nasty T shirt and shorts with open toed sandals and socks.

Can’t believe anyone would be happy with signing judge, he’s out until November and coming back from a long layoff off leads to more injuries…..chances are he won’t play more than 10 games this season….waste

how many times are we to be bent over a barrel by marseille,they have had good money off us for two players,loaned them back while we pay at least half there wage,then claim poverty and manage to do a deal to by back these players for less money then we paid for them a year earlier…..unreal!….take this lad on loan, like they do,if he’s any good do a deal involving thauvin.

in fairness,someone has clumped together every bad touch he seems to of ever had for that video….proper hater by the look of it…and has stitched him up good and proper like with that video though….coz he looks shocking!!!!lol

lesh
glad you got it sorted,
im not the most IT savvy (as you put it)myself,but had to learn how to do odds and sods when my nephew moved away,he used to sort it all for me!haha….u tube helped a lot with that tbh….still got a lot to learn though!!lol

If we are looking at wingers, look no further than Oliver Burke at Forest.

19 year old, quick tricky winger. Not afraid to take on full backs and scores goals as well as makes them. Just been called up to the full international scottish team. Available at 8 million but probably could be bought for 5.

I said the same thing after the first week of the season one look at Burke and thought wow..I actual proposed a straight swap for Sissoko this way we both win we get Burke and Sissy gets a dream club of his ; )

Seriously would go up to 10m for him no question definitely see him being big time star in near future and would be nice to have 2 Scotsman on the wing Ritchie and Burke maybe Ritchie can do a Cabaye and persuade a fellow countrymen to join the Rafalution

Springy @ 22
Haha,i woke up to that about Romain Alessandrini so i got the video up on you tube.My thoughts are exactly the same as yours,somebody must really hate him to put that up as a ” come n’ get me” shout to the football world.

Yea have seen him linked to a few Prem teams although 2 would be wasting his talents and that’s the Scum and Palace but Lvpl are the others, there is no doubt there are eyes on him the kid is only 19 and it’s obvious has star written all over him just needs right move next not somewhere he will rot

expat@28 and others. Agree about Burke. Could be the next big thing. Off to a top EPL team I reckon and I doubt for less than £10mill. Still raw, but I watched the Forest – Brighton game and he skinned their good CB (name escapes me) with ease a couple of times. Played for Scotland earlier this year I think, might have even come on for Ritchie actually.

Why don’t we just takeover Mondial and then pick and choose at our Leisure – maybe have a panel of Cheryl (Cole as was ) , Ant/Dec, Gazza and John Carver. A fans phone in could decide on any tie break decision and Will Young could sing at the break when the adverts for Wonga and Sports Direct are shown.
Just need a working title for the show , The Choice maybe .

Alternative might be to ensure that Rafa is picking the players he wants and needs, if this guy is one of then then fine.

geordie157- unrealistic to think about going for him I feel sure, unless we get the full quid for Sissoko and say to Forest here’s £15 million and we’ll take that lad. That’s the sort of move we should, and actually could make if we chose to, but we know it ain’t going to happen.

Burke is a right winger though. I’d definitely go after him based on the bits I’ve seen of him, but he would be direct competition for Ritchie, and we would still have a major hole on the left hand side to fill.

Burke and Ritchie on the right, Aarons and…… for the left. I imagine that we will only be after a left winger at this stage though.

Lilo – do we know Ritchie can’t play on the left? That’s a genuine question. He’s left-footed after all. He obviously prefers to play on the right to cut in and shoot and has been given that freedom by his an agree, but he might be just as effective on the left albeit in a different role if that’s where he’s played. Wingers routinely swap sides during games anyway, do they not?

I don’t think Benitez will throw money around. I doubt he’d be allowed to if he wanted to. He’ll be thorough and prudent, as befits our situation. We are relegated and so every signing most likely will have to be seen to represent value for money if he wants continued backing from the owner over each of the windows he’s here. It’s a long road back, and unless there’s been a massive shift, the club will still have to pay its own way.

ToF,
Ritchie can play on the left, just like Anita can play on the right wing or Gayle can play on the wing.

But like the other two, it isn’t his best position and I think given how he has started for us it would be a bit foolish to move him away from his primary position. It would be good to have Burke as an alternative/competition/cover for him though on that right hand side.

You maybe have a better chance of trying Burke on the left, but again, I’d prefer an actual left winger to play in the left wing role.

I think we could go in over the top anyway, even if the sissoko bid does not happen. We are about 7M in the black over this windows dealings (i think) so even a 15-17M bid puts us only 10M in the red (which is nowt in the transfer market). We should definitely test thier resolve.

Since he has come to realise that Rolando Aarons is made of glass , Rafa has been sniffing around Europe for young left-sided players to take on loan.
He missed out on Januzaj.
However two he has enquired about – Dani Ceballos of Gus Poyet’s Betis and Vaclav Cerny of Jong Ajax still remain possibilities

In honor of two dedicated Newcastle fans, who lost their lives supporting Newcastle United.

Their passenger jet was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday July 17th, 2014 by rebels, as they were traveling to support the team in New Zealand.

We will never forget them.

Health Update - 4 Aug, 2016

The good news last week was that after more blood tests my PSA count is still undetectable

This means the prostate cancer is still under control, and there is no trace of it in the body.

Now to be even more vigilant so I can see the Rafa Benitez project come to its fruition over the next few years - wouldn't want to miss that.

Howay The Lads!!>

Ed Harrison

What Is A Football Club?

What is a club in any case?

Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it.

It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes.

It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.

It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.